Workers have recently begun clearing and bulldozing the seven-acre site along Cooks Hill Road that could soon hold the much debated low-income migrant housing project.
Attempts by David Williams, owner of the neighboring Stillwaters Estates retirement community, to halt construction of the Archdiocese Housing Authority’s 48-unit complex on the basis that it would exacerbate flooding in the area failed late last year.
“We have a lot of compassion for people,” Williams said. “But they want to fill the flood plain and put parking down there.”
The proposed project on 2613 Cooks Hill Road would add a parking lot, a 2,000-acre community center and 48 townhouse style units. Williams’ main concern was the AHA’s plans to construct a retaining wall and sediment pond on the northside of the site.
He argued the State Environmental Policy Act form and the Mitigated Determination of Non-significance did not take several factors into account, specifically plans to build the retaining wall, but a judge ruled in favor of the AHA.
Still concerned about the flooding impacts to the neighborhood, Williams has continued to fight the project and is appealing the judge’s ruling.
The State Appellate Court in Tacoma is now serving as the next battleground for the case, though the case will not be heard for some time. Both sides are still in the process of entering their arguments, and a decision could be more than six months away said Allen Miller, Williams’ attorney.
The decision to clear the property to make way for construction was a surprise to Miller.
“There’s a risk if you go forward and the court finds that the structure shouldn’t be there,” he said, “you’ll have to tear everything out.”
Carrie Richter, attorney for AHA, said she was cautiously optimistic about the outcome of her client’s latest hurdle.
“You never know,” she said. “But I think we’re pretty comfortable with where we’re at.”
Richter was unsure of how much work would be done at the site after it has been cleared.
The AHA was not available for comment at press time.
sarabeth
I noticed they were clearing the property. Did they bother to get a permit from the DOE, since they were dropping their debris into a wetlands area? As I understand it, they cannot do this without purchasing wetlands credit from a wetlands bank or create more wetlands somewhere else - and they need a permit.